Definitions:

Speed: Distance travelled in unit time (m/s).
Frequency: Number of complete waves in one second (Hz).
Wavelength: Distance between matching poins on the wave (m).
Longitudinal: Vibration parallel to direction of travel.
Transverse: Vibration of rigth angle to direction of travel.

All about Sound
Room acoustics are about the way in which sound behaves in a room. Sound transmission, sound absorption, sound reflection and sound diffusion are all aspects that are important here. Room acoustics also include how we as humans perceive different acoustic phenomena. The field of building acoustics covers sound insulation too, where the route that the sound takes from the room to other areas is included.

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Room acoustic descriptors
As regards acoustic design, it is an advantage if different designs and procedures can be evaluated objectively. For this purpose, a number of measurable room acoustic descriptors have been defined. These descriptors can be used to formulate room acoustic specifications and to check the effect of different procedures. It would, of course, have been an advantage to have only one descriptor that works in all rooms. But hearing is multidimensional, so several descriptors are required.
Room acoustic descriptors
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ReverberanceReverberance is linked to the speed at which sound energy disappears in a room. An unfurnished room with hard surfaces, such as a church, is perceived as being more reverberant than a well-furnished living room.


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Speech claritySpeech clarity concerns the quality of speech transfer to the listeners. In a reverberant room with disturbing background noise, it can be difficult to pick up speech.


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Auditory strengthAuditory strength is the level at which we experience sound. A reverberant room gives a higher sound level than a room with added sound absorption.


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Spatial decayThe sound level decreases as the distance from the sound source increases. The design of the room (shape, furnishing, surface finish etc.) influences the extent to which the sound level decreases along with the distance.

What is sound insulation?
What is sound insulation?

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Room-to-room insulationHow to avoid unwanted sounds from adjacent rooms.

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One-way sound insulationSuspended acoustic ceilings help to avoid noise coming from installations.

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Vertical airborne sound insulationAirborne sound insulation may relate to sounds generated in both the room below and the room above.

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Impact sound insulationA suspended ceiling system can be used to improve the impact sound insulation and therefore reduce the impact sound level.

Room Acoustic Design
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Different acoustic room typesThe way sound behaves and affect the people in the room depends heavily on the room geometrie and placement of absorption material. Find out what acoustic room type you are working on.

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Choosing the right sound absorptionUsing absoprtion class A means that less material is needed and quality of teaching, working and healing is optimised.

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Acoustic design with wall panels and acoustical islandsA fully covered absorbing ceiling is the preferred solution for placement of sound absorption material. Sometimes, the design might require additional or alternative solutions.



Room-to-room insulationHow to avoid unwanted sounds from adjacent rooms.


external image One-way_sound_insulation.jpg&PI=10344&PL=en
One-way sound insulationSuspended acoustic ceilings help to avoid noise coming from installations.


external image Vertical_airborne_sound_insulation.jpg&PI=10345&PL=en
Vertical airborne sound insulationAirborne sound insulation may relate to sounds generated in both the room below and the room above.


external image Impact_sound_insulation.jpg&PI=10346&PL=en
Impact sound insulationA suspended ceiling system can be used to improve the impact sound insulation and therefore reduce the impact sound level.

Room Acoustic Design
external image room_acoustic_comfort.jpg&PI=10370&PL=en
Different acoustic room typesThe way sound behaves and affect the people in the room depends heavily on the room geometrie and placement of absorption material. Find out what acoustic room type you are working on.


external image sound_energy.jpg&PI=10337&PL=en
Choosing the right sound absorptionUsing absoprtion class A means that less material is needed and quality of teaching, working and healing is optimised.


external image Corridor-01.jpg&PI=10369&PL=en
Acoustic design with wall panels and acoustical islandsA fully covered absorbing ceiling is the preferred solution for placement of sound absorption material. Sometimes, the design might require additional or alternative solutions.


Interview: Professor Murray Hodgson
Note taking
Acoustical spaces, psycho acoustics
Sound in a space is noise? Usefull sound or bad sound
Echoing affects the sound in a room
Noisy place = bad acoustic design? Depends on the point of view
Sometimes noise is usefull because it gives a little more privacy. If we quit all the noise, probably we will fell like everybody can hear us
Noise is unwanted sound
A building is a physical system but the users are not
Requeriments for the needs of the people. You can’t cause auditive damage. This could also affect the emotions.
It’s needed to be carefull with sound reflection in certain places.
Depends of the priorities. Health is primordial when designing a building.
There’s no need to be extremist. Nobody wants to be in a concert hall and feel totally isolated
The noise can reduce the quality of life.
The acoustical environment specially of a building is something that can be designed with the architectural forms, the materials and the right equipment.
Main idea
The interview is about the point of view of a physic, Prof. Murray Hodgson , in the area of acoustics. He gives us the opinion of a scientist about the acoustic in architecture. In physics, buildings are physical systems and in this sense, noise is unwanted sound, but the problema is that the users of a building are humans, not machines, so, is necesary to think in their needs, because, health and emotions are primordial. For him, the noise is caused basically for the echo and the sound reflection, but this can be avoid by taking care on the architectural forms, the isolating materials and the right equipment. He also says that a noisy place not necessarily implides a bad acoustic design, because in certain levels, noise can be used to give privacy to the people in a room. For example, if we are talking in a restaurant and suddenly the noise disappears, we wiil feel like everybody can hear us. In conclussion, the answer is in the equilibrium because noise can reduce the quality of life but also could be usefull in some environments.